Short Sale Questions

Three years ago the most common short sale questions were “what is a short sale?” now I’d say we get many more questions regarding deficiency balances and taxes than we did in the past.  In our experience (over 100 short sale closings) I’d say that more home owners are researching short sales but they aren’t necessarily getting the full information.  For instance, if a person tells you they do short sales but only has 4 listings, then you might want to reconsider.  That’s why we always preach interview, interview and interview!

I thought I’d cover some of the “short version” answer to some  short sale questions basics here and then link you to the top questions that we have answered.  We’ll be updating the answers in the coming days so bookmark this site.  Pin it or save it.

Short Sale Questions [short answers]

• What is a short sale? – It’s essentially where the bank lowers their payoff to allow you to sell your home at a price for less than you owe.
• Do I owe taxes on the short sale? –  No  unless your an investor, then maybe.
• What do I need to qualify for a short sale? – Not much, a general hardship or need to sell your home.
• How long does the process take? – From start to finish, roughly 4 to 5 months, from offer to approval – around 60 days.  It typically takes us 30 to 45 days to get an offer and 60 days or less to get the bank to approve the short sale and another 30 days for the buyer to close.
• Why should I short sale? – It’s clear now that a short sale is in the best interest of you and the bank.  Foreclosure hurts your credit worse, but more important it puts the control in the bank’s hands on when to come after you in the future.

and some other…

Short Sale Questions

• What’s a Certified Short Sale Specialist?
• How Should I Price My Home?
• What about short sale investors?
• What about strategic default?
• What is a Deed In Lieu?
• What if I quit in the middle of the short sale?
• What about Short Sale Attorneys?
• What happens after I receive a foreclosure notice?
• When Should I Start Working on A Short Sale?

Short Sale Interview Questions

Statistics tell us that the average person that is selling is selling via short sale and that those people tend NOT to interview. This is a travesty and a shame and probably the single reason why so many people fail to sell their home via short sale. Short Sale Interview Questions was designed to help those that actually plan to interview their agents before trusting such a life altering event into their hands.

So what questions should you ask your agent?

What is a Short Sale

After 3+ years of short sales, one of the most common questions is what is a short sale. Afterall, if you haven’t been looking for a home or faced with selling your home, you might not be aware of what a short sale is.

So What is a Short Sale?

A Short Sale is basically where an owner of a property sells their property for what is less than is owed to the bank. The seller’s lender(s) essentially lower their payoff (the amount owed) to allow the short sale to happen.

Some keys that most people miss:

• A short sale seller still OWNS the property (until someone takes it from them via foreclosure)
• A short sale seller is netting the HIGHEST possible amount in the market thus SAVING property values vs FORECLOSURE
• A short sale seller is taking action, not giving up
• In every instance, a short sale is better than a foreclosure or bankruptcy

Every now and then you’re reminded why short sales get a bad rap.  Actually, every day you are reminded.  I wanted to share this story that we had experienced with a Suntrust negotiator while working on a client’s short sale.  We did get it closed successfully by the way!

I posted this over at GA Homes but thought it was appropriate for our discussion on Short Sales Listings.  Often we get requests from investors about short sale listings and of course, we want interest and offers from investors.  The challenge is that Short Sales represent a great opportunity for the savvy buyer, but often don’t represent a killer deal for the investor.    The fact is that most of the money is made going into the deal and seeing the updside.  Short sales are typically in better overall shape than REO properties and the banks typically won’t let them go for outrageous prices.  However, a patient investor could get a deal, as explained in the video.